There is a need for heated vests in many sports and other outdoor activities, such as for example motorcycling, snowmobiling and the like. Although many of the heretofore known heated vests have performed satisfactorily, further improvements are desired.
Problems associated with prior heated vests include, for example, high voltage power sources, heavy weight, lack of freedom of mobility, difficult to repair or wash and only partial coverage of the upper torso of the wearer. Many of the prior heated vests are formed of permanently fixed heating elements or removable heating elements. It will be appreciated that those vests with permanently fixed heating elements must be hand washed and hence are not easily maintained. Furthermore, many of the heated vests with removable heating elements typically are not completely removable and/or interchangeable. It will be appreciated that because the electrically heated vests must operate under a variety of conditions, failure of the heating elements and/or wiring harness of the heated vests is inevitable. Upon the failure of the heating elements and/or wiring harness the wearer will suffer the discomfort of the cold climate and may be forced to terminate the outdoor activity unless the vest can be simply and quickly repaired.
In view of the foregoing, it is an object of the present invention to provide an electrically heated vest. It is another object of the present invention to provide a heated vest of interchangeable and replaceable modules including electrical resistance heating elements and wiring harness. Yet another object of the present invention is to provide an electrically heated vest that is of lightweight construction. Still another object of the present invention is to provide an electrically heated vest that is easily washable. Yet another object of the present invention is to provide an electrically heated vest including interchangeable modules and wiring harness that may be easily and quickly replaced and/or interchanged and repaired.